sunten1

ok today i was at sam club in manchester and my headunit turned off and back on...and i was just a lil confused but i let it go...i went shopping with my dad..looking for new tires and some grocesy and i went left the building i got in the car. turned it on and nothing...just a whole bunch of lights and then it turned off. since we were at samclub and they had a garage i went in and asked the man if he could test my battery and so he does...and he tells me that the battery was fine considering it looked very new... and so he did a test on the alternator and he said that the alternator should be pushing out about 14 units( i dun't remmber the terminolgy) and my car was pushing about 10-11 units so he gave me a jump and i began my journey home.l pulled out and drove about .5-1 mile and i started losing power and i pulled the car over. and we pushed the car into the entrance of walmart. where we called AAA...


So from all that i need to know how much an alternator costs these days, both oem and aftermarket or any other solutions.
i had just bought this car about one month ago...i still have the warrenty form the dealer...which i think i screwing me over cuz everytime i go to him something else goes wrong...

ScarfaceTHX

Your alternator is not going out.











It is dead.

Nissan charges $300 for a new one. Labor isn't cheap either. If you can do it yourself, I recommend it.

***Be sure and check your alternator fuse 1st***

sunten1

thats comforting... ok if i say buy one from pep boys how much will it run fo

ohh ya and is it ez to install?

ScarfaceTHX

I've heard bad things about auto zone type replacements. I'm sure someone here has 1sthand experience with them.

The alternator isn't the easiest thing to get at. Look at it (under block by pass wheel) and decide if it's worth it.

Also, bear in mind, the car is NOT roadworthy right now. It will cut out on you when it uses up the battery. I had to have the battery charged 3 times to make it to the dealer. They charged about $300 more for install, new belts, etc.

sunten1

yikes!!!

well my batttery is gone.... DEAD...cuz of the breakdown lights...the car is going to the dealer thta i bought it from and i hope if he can fix do to the fact that i am still under warrenty. i have a 60days/3000mile warrenty its been about 30 days and i have about 1000miles

sunten1

ohh ya and one more thing before i arrived at my destination(sams club) the abs light was on and i was just wondering if that had anything to do with it....

jaykid806

what about my 99 se last nite i pulled in my drive way and then i hear a new whining noise what is wrong and is my alternator on its way out?

Wills98MaxSE

your Max is a '98 and hopefully if your '98 wasn't manufactured after Feb. '98 then you still qualify for the alternator recall, this affects Max's manufacted b/w Feb. '97 thru Feb. '98, so might be a good time to check the manufacture date on your driver door jamb

mine was manufactured Jan. '98 so my Max got the recall

ScarfaceTHX

I missed the recall by a digit.

Rick James

iTrader: (2)

jaykid806: Mine started with the whining noise and 4 days later altonator was dead. I was told that the bearings were shot.


sunten1: Hey I work right up the hill at the Buckland mall.
Anyway yes you altonator is dead, mine died a week ago. i got mine from NAPA it was from a I30 130 amp,( i got a system and a remote start and other things) i think stock on GLE,GXE is 100 amp and SE is 110 amps.
$314 and -$110 when you bring the old one back. I was also charged $90 to get it put in. Personaly if you are buying a new alternator I say get the one with the higher amperage regardless of any electrical mods.

As for the ABS light (mine was flashing) since the car is only running at 10 volts it doesn't have enough juice to power everything I guess the ABS is the second to go 1st being the radio.( happend to me just like that)

Nismotic

iTrader: (25)

Having your alternator die sucks. Right before your car dies its like your car is possessed. (sp?)


I got an aftermarket autozone one and i gotta tell you, my alternator has been making a weird sound ever since its been installed. I say look for an OEM alternator on ebay or some place cheaper, and if u cant install it yourself, look for a local garage. They can do it for much cheaper.

sunten1

Alright MR I AM RICK JAMERS B!TCH!!!
Well where is your garage anywho? Because as of right now my car is at Don's Texicco on Route 83 is well my car is sitting there right now...well i find out if i need your help, and whether or not they willl charge my considering i am still under warrenty

Rick James

iTrader: (2)

You got PM

muhle

When my alternator was in death mode, the ABS light came on... a few miles later the air bag light started flashing. Not too much later the ignition started cutting out. It was a slow painful death. Paid $300 for a Nissan rebuilt, neighbour put it in for a bottle of Bacardi.

myfirstmaxima

I took my 96 in to get its knock sensor replaced and my mechanic noticed that my brake light and battery light were on. He ran a test on my alternator and told me that a piece of it needed replaced? I didn't know that that was possible... I know that I will be needing a new one since my car does have 148,xxx. It's not something I'm looking forward to from what I've just read on here! Anyways... is it possible to extend the life of it by just replacing a piece of it?

SunMax

iTrader: (2)

Well, when my alternator went dead last Nov, it wasn't a pretty experience. It was rainning really hard, and I notice my wipers sweep slower than usual. Then later that day the headlight got dimmer. Then I smell burning smoke. Anyway, it turns out my car is under the alternator recall, and I got a new one for free.

Still, it was a bad experience especially there was heavy rains.

Sunten1, I didn't see your response whether your car is under recall. If it is, then give Nissan a call.

sunten1

it doesn't matter thanks youallll the dealer that i bought the car from fixed it in one day so its all good but my dad had to shell down 400 bucks for it

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

What good is the warrenty then?

ThurzNite

iTrader: (13)

on my 93 maxima, 93 altima, and 95 altima, anytime the alternator starts wiggin out, the parking brake light and bettery light come on. Then I got some time to safely pull over and shut down. I wonder why 4th gens don't do that.
Jae

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

4th gens do it too. It is the alternator fuse that triggers the lights, if the fuse blows, then the light turns on. I am pretty sure it is like htat on most Nissan's

hakk97se

That happened to me today. My alternator has been whining for almost a week on and off. Today, driving home from work, the battery light and the parking brake lights came on. I knew my alternator was on it's way out, but for some reason, I felt lucky, so I kept going. I ended up getting all the way home, which was about 25-30 miles in mixed city traffic/freeway driving. Once I got home, I figured, as soon as I shut the car off, it wouldn't start back up again. So I tried it, but to my surprise, it started right up...

Is it possible that the alternator is just acting funky, on it's death bed, and blew the warning fuse (or whatever someone just mentioned) but then continued operating OK for a while?? My car is under the alternator recall, so I can get it all fixed for free, but it's going to take at least a week until I can get an appointment, and I dont want my car just sitting here all the time if it doesnt have to be...

SunMax

iTrader: (2)

The alternator recall is due to bad diode which may cause fire in the engine bay (if I remember correctly). For my case, it was pretty bad as heavy smoke came out and my Max had to tow to the dealership (Nissan North America is pretty cool. They reimbursed the towing fee). Anyway, I will recommend you to have it done ASAP.

HybriDSM

changine out the alternator was not nearly as hard as .ORGers made it out to be. it takes a few minutes of twisting and turning things to figure out how to get clearance to remove it, but after that you're gravy. I cant believe people pay $300 to have that job done. i had to buy a few tools to get the job done (an extra extension and a slim jim looking serpentine belt tool), but that was far less than $300.

NEW2DAGAME

iTrader: (1)

x2. I changed mine day before yesterday, and it wasnt nearly as hard as people made it out be.

ThurzNite

iTrader: (13)

hakk97se: warning lights are just that... a warning. Also, the alternator, according to fsm, is not involved in starting the car. Anyways, please drive carefully till u fix the alternator. Or keep the rpm's way up... I found that keeping rpm above 4k turns off the warning lights.

Which reminds me. Hopefully this'll scare some people into changing their alternator. I was on the freeway, warning lights on, so I get off at the next offramp, which's about .25-.5 miles long. I throw it to neutral and brake... then lotsa warning lights come on, and I realize the engine is off!!! Then I realized I lost power steering and power brakes. On top of that, this offramp's on a decline. I was ****ing in my pants smashing the brake pedal and grippin the wheel. Luckily, the engine started up when I safely stopped at the bottom, so I could move outta the way. Whew!

Jae

KCMaxima98

iTrader: (4)

Mine just went out a couple of weeks ago. The battery and park brake light would come on together and then go away after a while. After a couple of days of that, those two lights started staying on. Then the headunit cut out and things went downhill from there. Windows wouldn't roll down, air bag light started blinking, then the acceleration got real choppy. Luckily, it made it to my mechanic before it totally died.
After all of that the new alternator (not oem) started making noise immediately. Apparently, it had bad bearings and I had to get another one put in. What a pain in the ****. If you have the battery light on and any of the above symptoms, then you are really asking for it if you drive anywhere except to your mechanic. Could be days or minutes before it dies, you never know.

ThurzNite

iTrader: (13)

are you sure it's brand new? One dealership near me uses new ones, which's why they make you put a deposit down first, or they keep your car for a while so they can order one from nissan. I've never heard of a new one being bad, only remanf ones.

At least you're safe.
Jae

sunten1

ya the new one i got has a lifetime warrenty on it so its all good...